To Tinder or not to Tinder, that's the question: An individual differences perspective to Tinder use and motives

•The relationship between personality and Tinder use and motives is examined.•Extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness to experience influence Tinder use.•Individual differences in singles can account for Tinder motives.•Mobile dating apps appear to be part of single life during emerging adulthood.

Tinder is quickly becoming one of the most popular mobile dating applications for meeting people within the vicinity. From a personality theory perspective, it is important to find out what motivates people to use Tinder and what makes them different from those who never used the application. The present study investigated how the Five-Factor Model of personality relates to both Tinder use and motives. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted on 502 single emerging adults. Single Tinder users are more extraverted and open to new experiences than single non-users, whereas single non-users tend to be more conscientious than single Tinder users. Additionally, the findings provide several unique insights into how individual differences in singles can account for Tinder motives by supporting nearly all hypotheses. This study thus adds to a growing body of literature that examines traditional personality theories in the context of computer-mediated online environments.